United States’ Florida state Republican representative, Maria Elvira Salazar questioned US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on the US State Department maintaining an official note that cautions Afro-Americans that in recent months travelers to the Dominican Republic have reported being delayed, detained or subject to heightened questioning at ports of entry and in other encounters with immigration officials based on their skin color.
During her turn to participate in the 23 March 2023 US State Department Foreign Policy Priorities and Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request in Congress, Salazar asked the US Secretary of State if he believed the Dominican government was racist. He responded, “no”, while adding that there are concerns about the treatment of Haitian migrants.
The legislator says she has asked the State Department for proof of the racist allegations in the travel alert, but she says the State Department has not been able to provide the evidence that proves the Dominican government is affecting African-Americans.
Blinken argued the US State Department had issued an alert, not a travel ban. The Representative said that repeated requests have not produced the first response with facts from the State Department and called for the travel alert to be removed.
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US Congress hearing – 2:54 of the video – Anthony Blinken
US Embassy in the Dominican Republic
Diario Libre
29 March 2023